I9 hubs

I did a search and found nothing in the forum, so posting. I 9 has fat hubs on their website. 170s and 190s specs, weight etc. Would love to build a set of wheels or at least a rear with one of these. Probably not in my budget though.

Industrynine.net. Look In the hub drop down menu.

Urmb

“Nothing compares to the simple pleasure of riding a \mountain or fat/ bike.” ~ John F. Kennedy

Funny it did not show up. There are a bunch of people riding them, a friend of mine has had a set since December, he likes them a bunch. Quite a few people riding the Hed rims have them, I believe Hed stocks them.

Originally Posted by urmb

I did a search and found nothing in the forum, so posting. I 9 has fat hubs on their website. 170s and 190s specs, weight etc. Would love to build a set of wheels or at least a rear with one of these. Probably not in my budget though.

I9 is in the middle of a total redesign of the freehub system. Which tells me they didn't like their old system?

I was leaning towards buying a Paul Rhub, but they have to do a total redesign also, as they utilize I9 freehubs.

I personally don't like to be anyone's test rat, so I will be pursuing White Ind.

I9's Torch hubs use a different freehub system than what was in the Rhub. Where did you get your information from about being "in the middle of a total redesign"? Are you saying that they are redesigning the Torch freehub? That seems difficult to believe as it already seems superior to what they previously used.

the Torch hubs are awesome for fat bike. building a fat bike29+ wheel set with some now. They are not using us as field testers as far as I can tell? I was on the Skunk team for ten years and have done some field testing. These hubs are the nicest hubs I have ever used. Buy once cry once.

i checked them out at their sea otter classic booth, very nicely finished and solid hubs. and are pretty loud. i dont see what can go wrong. and you have options of going thru axles by just swapping the end caps. they say they were not planning to make thru axles at the moment.

i asked about the pricing, it was quiet expensive so i didnt remember.

I9's Torch hubs use a different freehub system than what was in the Rhub. Where did you get your information from about being "in the middle of a total redesign"? Are you saying that they are redesigning the Torch freehub? That seems difficult to believe as it already seems superior to what they previously used.

Paul has to redesign the Rhub because I9 is redesigning the hub that is utilized in the Paul. If the Torch hubs are not in the Paul, than why would you assume I was talking about Torch? Idk how many different freehub systems I9 has.

I got my info from a phone conversation with an employee at Paul.

Ask Mikesee what he thinks of I9, and he might have a different opinion....that isn't positive.

Like I said earlier I have a lot of experience with I9's and not just looking at them either and no way would I have them on my fat bike. I agree with Mike C as well.

I would guess that there are more than a few people currently using I9 Torch hubs. I have one laced to a HED carbon wheel. I have about 500 miles on mine and like it very much. A little pricey but no issues at all. Anyone else that can weigh in here? I'm interested to hear what issues there may be.

Like I said earlier I have a lot of experience with I9's and not just looking at them either and no way would I have them on my fat bike. I agree with Mike C as well.

What kind of problems did you experience? I have a (non-fat) set of i9 wheels with the aluminum spokes that I rode on my main bike for 5 years. Still have 'em. Zero problems with mine. Replaced some bearings once. They were super cheap and super easy to replace using standard tools.

I guess that I'll find out first hand about the reliability of I9 Torch rear hubs. I'm about to build one into a wheel for my Krampus. Like I said already, I like the new freehub design better than their older design. http://www.industrynine.net/files/fi...ub_Diagram.pdf

That links to the new internals. I'd love to hear what Mike C has to say about the problems associated with these hubs. I personally am not a fan of aluminum spokes, so I wouldn't buy a complete I9 wheel, but that's just my personal chioce. I know there were some initial problems with the entire freehub body sliding off too easily, but those problems seem to have been addressed. Doesn't Mike C prefer DT hubs?

For what it's worth, I have used White Industries hubs for quite some time, and have had few issues, besides an occassional pawl spring replacement. I actually have a set of Snow Whites that I need to build up in the near future.

Since we're on the topic of hubs to possibly shy away from...what about Hope hubs. I really like Hope and have had great luck with their front hubs, but then I built a rear wheel using a Fatsno. The bearings seem shot after only 3 months of use, and that was summer use. I haven't used that wheel since last September. I really need to tear the hub apart. It seems that many others are experiencing similar problems. I guess that it all boils down to serviceability. I'm definitely not bashing Hope, because I like their stuff, but I think that I'd rather have the occassional pawl spring wear out rather than have bearings that crap the bed after a fairly short life.

I have 2 years and several thousand miles on my Hope Fatsno's. Zero problems with them. Still running smooth and tight on original bearings. Pretty light, good price (off the web), and also easy to service.

In general, I ride fairly hard and fairly often, and weigh only around 155 lbs, so I'm not a destroyer of parts. The only hubs that have given me any trouble in recent years were the stock Surly and Shimano ones that came with my Pugsley wheelset.

Looks like a better pawl spring design and no more big ass bearing pressing the driver into the hubshell. The old springs are easily damaged on the driver side during assembly.
The I9 driver/RHUB is sweet, I like mine, but have to admit to holding my breath for 197 DT's. However, In the event that doesn't pan on out I'm planning on the I9 Torch and would also be curious what issues anyone has had with them?

I have 2 years and several thousand miles on my Hope Fatsno's. Zero problems with them. Still running smooth and tight on original bearings. Pretty light, good price (off the web), and also easy to service.

In general, I ride fairly hard and fairly often, and weigh only around 155 lbs, so I'm not a destroyer of parts. The only hubs that have given me any trouble in recent years were the stock Surly and Shimano ones that came with my Pugsley wheelset.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not trying to bash Hope hubs. I'm not impressed that the bearings seemed to have died so quickly, but as you just stated hub issues are not exclusive to I9. I'm pretty sure we could find someone who's had issues with nearly every make of hub out there. We're often pretty hard on our gear. I like to reserve final judgement on a component once I see how serviceable it is. Both the Hopes and the I9s are pretty easy to service. Hooefully my Rear Hope will be good as new once I swap out bearings. I just "hope" that this is not a repetitive problem

What kind of problems did you experience? I have a (non-fat) set of i9 wheels with the aluminum spokes that I rode on my main bike for 5 years. Still have 'em. Zero problems with mine. Replaced some bearings once. They were super cheap and super easy to replace using standard tools.

I've put a ton of miles on the older version without fail well except for some of the aluminum spokes coming loose within the first 10 miles. I have the newer set of torches that I have not put many miles on but the fail rate on the first torch hubs have been fairly high. I don't like their 142mm adapter and I think their 197mm will be the same way, it is basically built so all that is holding the cassette on is when it's installed in the frame. It sucks the first time you change a flat on the rear and you forget about this and the cassette falls in the dirt. It just seems to me that my fat bike is just so much harder on drive trains and where I take it I just don't trust the I9's to get me back. I know no part is fail proof but at sub zero temps I just go with what my gut says and it says no to I9's. We have a ton of Hope hubs being pounded daily around here with great results winter and summer so I just feel better staying with them but I will continue to run the I9's on my 29er, the engagement, looks, and weight is just awesome and has really helped to improved my confidence in the rocks.

So to answer your question I have no real bad experience with my i9's just my gut saying no for the winter at least for now and until I hear some good results.

Edit: Oh and I don't quit feel the same about the i9's as Mike C. does.

Remove the silly proprietary alu spokes from the I9 equation and I think they are solid, dependable hubs.

They had some growing pains way back when they first came to market that have since been remedied best I can tell.

My only true beef with them is the noise--I prefer quiet when coasting and that's the only real reason I'd never use a set of I9's on my own bikes.

All that aside? I've ridden DT hubs up the Iditarod 4 times to Nome, 2500 miles down the continental divide, for countless 100 mile and 24 hour races, plus every day for the last 17+ years. We're talking tens upon tens of thousands of miles in every condition imaginable, and not one hiccup much less issue to date.

In a month or so the DT hubs will be available in modern fat hub widths (including 150 for Bluto) and you can bet that I'll have them and nothing else on my fatbikes going forward.

Thanks for chiming in Miikesee. I don't like to speak for others, but I feel pretty confident when I say that many of us less accomplished wheel builders really value your advice on wheel building and components. Also, can you provide any info on the 54t star ratchet dealios that are rumored to be available for DT hubs? That sounds super intriguing to me.

All I can add is that I've been using and selling I9's since the early days, and have found them to be user friendly, durable, and easily on par with all the other big players out there. Between mine two sets, and probably a dozen others under riders I get out with frequently, these hubs and or wheels see several rides a week, year round, in all manner of nasty conditions. No, nothing like the Iditarod, but I'd wager few in this forum, will be subjecting any of their bikes to those extremes too often, either.

The company has been great to work with, seen a few split freehub bodies, all were replaced under warranty despite being several years old at the time. Seen my share of split DT Swiss rear hub shells too, which were also dealt with very professionally by DT.

Most parts break if you use it hard enough, long enough. Sure, you may need to pay for a new piece after 5 years of callous abandon, but many times, good companies such as King, I9, DT, et al, will surprise you with their level of support even then.

Buying from a company that stands behind their product, and supports it well into the future, that's the choice that needs to be paid attention to.

I would like to emphasize again that I love my I9's but here is some interesting reading and yes I got some neg rep from certain people on this at a time when they where handing it out like candy at the Easter parade.

All I can add is that I've been using and selling I9's since the early days, and have found them to be user friendly, durable, and easily on par with all the other big players out there. Between mine two sets, and probably a dozen others under riders I get out with frequently, these hubs and or wheels see several rides a week, year round, in all manner of nasty conditions. No, nothing like the Iditarod, but I'd wager few in this forum, will be subjecting any of their bikes to those extremes too often, either.

The company has been great to work with, seen a few split freehub bodies, all were replaced under warranty despite being several years old at the time. Seen my share of split DT Swiss rear hub shells too, which were also dealt with very professionally by DT.

Most parts break if you use it hard enough, long enough. Sure, you may need to pay for a new piece after 5 years of callous abandon, but many times, good companies such as King, I9, DT, et al, will surprise you with their level of support even then.

Buying from a company that stands behind their product, and supports it well into the future, that's the choice that needs to be paid attention to.

Thank you, too, for chiming in MCS. You always provide valuable info. Once again, I agree with your sentiments.

Thanks for chiming in Miikesee. I don't like to speak for others, but I feel pretty confident when I say that many of us less accomplished wheel builders really value your advice on wheel building and components. Also, can you provide any info on the 54t star ratchet dealios that are rumored to be available for DT hubs? That sounds super intriguing to me.

I know nothing about the 54t ratchets becoming available aftermarket.

But my opinion is that POE is irrelevant. I know that opinion cuts across the grain of many around here, but I stand by it. I've ridden the same bike on back to back loops of some of the techiest trails on this continent, one lap with 18 POE, the next lap with 72. For a month of rides I did this, and no matter which trails I rode, no matter what kind of day I was having, no matter how much I looked for a difference, at the end of the day I never felt *any* difference.

Mikesee has gotten me all hot an bothered about the DTSwiss offerings, but I am wanting a rear hub before that. Any reason I shouldn't bite the bullet on the White Ind Snow White? I need the beefiest 170mm rear hub known to man!!

The Snow White hubs seem like great hubs to me. I have not had a White Industries product let me down. Their hubs roll smoothly, are well made, and they're easy to work on. If you want to lighten them a bit, you can bling them out with a Ti freehub body. I've also had great customer service with the fine people at White Industries when I needed some pawl springs. I say go for it!